Uzo Aduba Snags 2020 Emmy Award for Role in 'Mrs America'

Nigerian-American actress Uzo Adubawas awarded an Emmy for her stellar performance as Civil Rights icon Shirley Chisholm in the limited television series Mrs America. The 2019 production, which also stars Cate Blanchett, highlights several American female figures and their fight to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, which proposed that civil rights not be determined on the basis of sex, OkayAfrica's Damola Durosomo writes. The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards were held this past Sunday and were hosted by popular late-night television host, Jimmy Kimmel.

Aduba took home the Emmy award for "Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Movie or Series" after having been nominated alongside other Africans including Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji and Trevor Noah. The 2018 OkayAfrica 100 Women honouree accepted her award while donning a t-shirt with the name of slain African-American EMT Breonna TaylorBreonna Taylorand praised her fellow nominees as being "exceptional", according to Deadline.

This is Aduba's third Emmy award following her "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" (2014) and "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" (2015) victories for her role as "Crazy Eyes" in the Netflix series Orange Is The New Black. Aduba became one of two performers ever to win an Emmy in both of those categories for the same role. You can rewatch her riveting 2015 acceptance speech here.

While this year's Emmys saw more people of colour being nominated and subsequently winning awards compared to previous years, there are still significant strides that need to happen to ensure more diversity.